Dealing With A Building Boom

SUFFIELD — When Lori and Richard Kolensky moved into the Silver Creek development off North Main Street a year and a half ago, they were the third or fourth family in the area.

Today only 14 lots are left in the 45-lot site.

``This year,'' said Lori Kolensky, ``they had two or three [construction sites] going at a time.''

Silver Creek's rapid development is one indication of Suffield's building boom. But a quick drive around town quickly uncovers more. Overturned, reddish brown earth is visible from streets off Thrall, Kent, North Main, South Main and Bridge streets. Barechested men sit on housing frames pounding nails into wood.

The new housing ranges from sprawling 3,300-square-foot homes, worth $300,000 and up, to smaller 1,600 square-foot homes in the $150,000 range. The new projects include the retirement community Suffield By the River and student dorms for Suffield Academy.

About 72 new building permits were issued by Suffield's building department from July 1997 to April 1998, said Edward ``Ted'' Flanders, the town's building inspector. The almost 120 percent increase over the previous period, when only 33 permits were issued, has kept Flanders busy. He expects to issue 10 more building permits by the end of the month.

In January, Suffield lead all state municipalities in new building permits, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development. And statewide, new building permits increased 73 percent compared with the same month the previous year.

What's fueling the growth? A strong national economy and low interest rates. New residents and developers say that mix, coupled with Suffield's highly regarded school system and its low crime rate, makes for a winning combination.

The Kolenskys discovered Suffield five years ago when they started looking for their first home. They fell in love with the town.

But real estate prices were too high for the couple. So they purchased a house in Longmeadow, Mass. Developers building new homes said many of Suffield's new homeowners come from surrounding towns like Enfield, Longmeadow or Windsor. But more come from Suffield itself, said Elzear Roy, owner of Briarwood Homes, who has built houses in town for more than 20 years. The company is developing Silver Creek and two other subdivisions in Suffield.

The growth has had a significant effect on the town. The income generated by the building permits is one of the reasons the town was able to lower the 1998-99 tax rate.

But new families can often mean more children crowding the town's schools. The Kolenskys for instance have an 8-month-old and 4-year-old. Concern is growing about school crowding. The school board is holding an open house and meeting at McAlister Middle School, 260 Mountain Road, beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the school system's options for solving crowding at that school.

First Selectman Robert Skinner has accepted the fact that Suffield's population, which numbered 11,311 in 1996, will increase.

``Growth is going to happen,'' said Skinner. ``You can't change it but you can control it.''

One way Suffield controlled its growth was through the zoning and planning commission. The town parcels land off in lots as large as an acre and a half. That preserves the spacious atmosphere of the town.

The town has also recently installed a sewage system around the Thrall Avenue area, which made the land available for development.

But Suffield's growth is also being controlled naturally. ``It's hard to find good land and build on it in Suffield,'' said Doug Williams, whose company D.H. Williams Inc. is developing the subdivision off Kent. ``There's a lot of wetlands, a lot of areas where the ground isn't conducive to easy building.''

(This charts shows the number of new housing permits issued in Suffield in a six year period. It also shows the construction cost for building these homes. Please note that the fiscal year is from July through April for all years for consistency.)